If you are thinking about fetal tachycardia you should know that this is a problem that appears in about 0.4%-0.6% of the cases. At the moment the doctors are still debating whether there is need for medical intervention.
What do the specialists have to say about tachycardia of the fetus?
Some of the doctors believe that there is no need for intervention because it could lead to neurological morbidity. They also add that in many cases the problem disappears on its own. Some other professionals suggest pharmacotherapeutic interventions or even fetal demise.
In the majority of the cases of the baby’s tachycardia the preferred method of treatment is indirect treatment, through administration of drugs to the mother. The kind of drugs used and the success rate depends on the kind of tachycardia that we are referring to.
Type of tachycardia
As it has been mentioned before regarding the fetal tachycardia, it is important to determine the kind of problem that you are faced with. The sad truth however is that at the moment this is quite difficult to do. The most commonly used diagnosis method is the M-mode ecocardiography.
By using this kind of diagnosis for the tachycardia of the baby the doctors learn a lot about the cardiac structures of the baby. In the last period of time there were numerous attempts to increase the accuracy of the diagnosis method and at the moment the specialists are working on new ways of diagnosis.
Definitions
In order to be able to talk about fetal tachycardia, you have to know what it is. Normally at 30 weeks, the heart rate of the baby is of 120-160 bpm and at 28-29 weeks it is of 110-150 bpm. If the heart rate is over 170 it is considered to be mildly abnormal.
If the heart rate exceeds 170-180 bpm, we can be talking about the fetus’ tachycardia. Abnormalities of this kind are usually observed during routine check-ups. Echocardiography can be used to rule out other abnormalities and it can be used to set in place the M-mode sampling.
In order to have more accurate results regarding fetal tachycardia, the doctors can also use fetal magnetocardiography. This can record the magnetic field of electrical activity that is generated by the heart. This kind of test isn’t invasive and it is done by using sensors cooled by liquid helium.
Premature atrial contractions
These aren’t always associated with the tachycardia of the little one and in the majority of the cases the outcome is a positive one. Nonetheless in about 0.4% of the cases the situation gets worse and the baby gets affected by tachycardia. This is why it is best if the patients are closely monitored on a weekly basis.
Atrial flutter
This problem causes fetal tachycardia in 21%-50% of the cases and in the majority of the cases it can be associated with structural abnormalities. In this case the heart rate is of 250-500 bpm. The problem is diagnosed the same way as the previous one.
